Cassian felt a throb of panic inside his chest. "Vader?" he demanded. "Are you sure?"

Bodhi nodded. "We're sure."

They'd all heard the stories about the rebels Darth Vader caught. He had ways of getting information out of the minds of people that couldn't be prepared for, couldn't be resisted. There was more than just their lives at stake.

Cassian immediately took charge. "Bodhi, put K back together! Baze, when he's done, rip open the ceiling. We're going out the roof."

Bodhi got to work as quickly as his hands would let him. He reattached K-2's arm first, and shoved wires back into his head. It took him a full ten minutes to fix the droid and switch him back on.

"Well, I'm glad I could… why are still in the safe house?" K-2 asked. "Did Jyn mess up our escape plan?"

"K, Vader's here," Cassian said. "We're leaving. Now." He looked at Baze. "Do it."

Baze stood in the middle of the room and shot blaster bolts in a circular motion through the roof until a large chunk of plaster fell. The gaping hole revealed the black sky twinkling with the stars. Shouts of the Stormtroopers filled their ears as Bodhi and Cassian pushed the table directly underneath the opening.

Baze went first, and returned the fire of the Troopers. Chirrut went up next, then Bodhi. Jyn stood on the table and gripped the ceiling, propelling herself through the gap. Cassian went up after her, and K-2 brought up the rear.

Cassian took a half-second to get his bearings, and grabbed his nearest friend, shoving them in the direction they needed to go. Red lasers flashed past them. He shouted his orders. The team took off, heading North.

They'd gained a quarter mile of ground. The rooftop stretched for two hundred yards. Jyn ran beside Cassian. She let out a sharp cry. Cassian felt her snatched from his side. He whirled around.

She was held three feet from the ground. Her hands were wrapped around her neck. An expression of pure terror darkened her face. A figure clad in black stood behind her, hand outstretched.

"JYN!" Cassian shouted. A wave of horror rose inside him. He started to run back to her. A metal hand closed around his arm, keeping him in place. "JYN! K, LET GO!"

"The Force moves darkly around him," Chirrut said. "He is a Jedi fallen from grace."

"He's going to kill Jyn!" Bodhi shouted.

Baze threw his blaster up and took aim at the black figure.

"Go!" they heard Jyn choke out. "R-run!"

"Rogue One!" a deep voice thundered. "Where is the Rebel base?"

No one spoke. Cassian struggled against K-2's iron grasp, desperate to get to Jyn.

"You will take nothing from us," Chirrut said, stepping to the front of the group. "Go back to the Empire."

A glowing red light, steady and menacing, appeared in Vader's hand. It cast a dark light on him. A black cape fluttered around him in the night breeze. The red light glinted off of a black, half-mechanical suit and terrifying helmet. The eyes and mouth were cast in shadow, distorting the already horrifying image of the last remnant of the Jedi.

Cassian watched him move the hot blade beside Jyn's face. He yanked his blaster from his belt and crashed it against K-2's head. K let go. Cassian ran half the distance and aimed the weapon at the Imperial lord. He fired several shots directly at the horrific helmet. Vader blocked every one with a swish of his lightsaber. He waved his hand and the blaster flew out of Cassian's hand and over the ledge of the roof.

"Take me!" In his panic, Cassian barely heard his own words. "I have all the Rebellion's information! You don't need her!"

"Don't!" K-2 snapped.

"I will take you," Vader promised. "All of you. But thank you for telling me who is… dispensable." He drew his saber back.

"Jyn, no!" Cassian dove to grab her, knowing he didn't have enough time. The distance was too great. The lightsaber cut through the air in a red arc, slicing for her neck.

A roar rumbled through the night. A blast of hot air forced Cassian back. Vader's focus was lost; he dropped Jyn. He was blown off the roof, black cape rippling around him. The scream of the engine diminished. Cassian scrambled to his feet. He ran to Jyn and wrapped an arm around her. She coughed violently.

Electronic light flooded the roof. He looked up and saw the door of a freighter held open. A woman held her hand out, motioning them all to come.

"Get in!" she shouted over the whine of the engine.

Cassian didn't have time to place where he'd seen the freighter before, or where he knew the woman from. He pulled Jyn to her feet and dashed for the ship. Everyone else jumped in before them. They held the support beams and held out their hands, shouting for Cassian to hurry. The ship began to pull away from the roof.

At the last second, they jumped. For a moment, he was sure they wouldn't make it. Then, the hands of their teammates grabbed them and hauled them into the rescue craft. He looked back as it closed, and saw the dark shape of Darth Vader standing on the roof again. The ship pulled away from the roof and made a premature jump to light speed.

Jyn fell to her knees, coughing, trying to pull enough air through her damaged throat. He dropped next to her and placed a hand on her back. Bodhi knelt next to them.

"Is she okay?" he demanded.

Cassian met his eyes and nodded. "She'll be fine."

"It's a good thing we were passin' by and heard that transmission, Andor," an arrogant voice said. Cassian looked up to see one his least favorite people in the galaxy smirking at him.

Cassian nodded at the Captain of the Millennium Falcon, hiding his distaste. "Good thing," he agreed.

Leia Organa emerged from behind Han Solo. Cassian stood and accepted the urgent hug she gave him. He squeezed her tightly, far beyond grateful to see her. She held onto him for a long moment before pulling away. Cassian noticed Solo's dramatic eye-roll.

"Are you all okay?" Leia demanded. She scanned the team quickly, and turned back to Cassian. "What happened?"

"We were found out. The informant was dead when we got there. They corned us in the safe house and waited until Vader could arrive to collect us himself."

She let out the breath she'd been holding. "You didn't get the information?"

Cassian shook his head. "It died with the man who had it."

Leia took a step back and looked him up and down. "What happened to you?"

"Bolt grazed his side," K-2 answered.

Leia turned to the droid and smiled. "It's good to see you, K."

"Hey, is anyone going to tell me what this is about?" Solo demanded.

"Sorry, classified to anyone not permanently in the Rebellion," Bodhi replied. He didn't like Solo any more than Cassian did.

Han rolled his eyes and walked back down the narrow hall. "Just don't screw with my ship!"

Cassian felt Jyn stand up and turned to her. She was massaging her neck. The fear that had consumed him minutes before crashed down on him, nearly overwhelming him. He grabbed her and drew her into a tight embrace. He didn't care that their entire team and the Princess were right there.

Jyn shoved him back as if he'd burned her. "What the hell was that!?" she snapped.

Cassian's relief vanished into confusion. Her eyes were on fire with a terrible fury, and he couldn't understand why. He glanced at Leia, as if she could tell him. She gave a half-shrug, and turned to the rest of the team.

"I'll run you guys through a quick medical examination," she said. "Come with me."

"I'd rather stay and see Cassian and Jyn fight," Bodhi said.

"Rook!" Baze snapped, dragging Bodhi with him. "Let's go."

"I am perfectly fine," K-2 said.

"Your left arm is on backwards," Leia informed him. "I'll have Chewie fix that."

"I have no intention of leaving after-"

"K, clear out," Cassian ordered.

K-2 looked at his master for a moment. Without another word, he followed the Princess. Cassian knew he'd have to smooth things over with K if Jyn left him alive at the end of this.

Once they were all out, he turned back to Jyn. She was practically seething.

"You were going to take my place," she stated.

He didn't see why she should be so mad about that. "Of course I was. You were-"

"You were going to give the Empire exactly what they wanted! Just because Vader had me! You should have run!"

"We're all safe. It turned out fine," Cassian pointed out. His tone was unbearably slow, like he was explaining things to child.

"But it might not have!" she snapped. "He would have tortured you, Cassian! He would have used you as an example of what happens to those who defy the Empire!"

"You think I don't know that?" he replied. "But he would have done the same-"

"No! He would have killed me quickly! I didn't have anything to give him because you never let me in on the Rebellion's secrets! Is that why!? Is that why you don't trust me to-"

"Of course I trust you! But the more you know, the more danger you're in. Knowledge is a terrifying power, Jyn."

"So you thought you'd use that 'terrifying power' to sacrifice yourself for me!?"

"Why is this such a surprise to you? I disobeyed direct orders to kill your father. I climbed up fifty feet of database with a shattered hip and fractured spine to make sure you were okay. I risked my life and K's to drag you out of a terrorist camp. Why are you suddenly shocked that I would give my life for you?"

"I'm not shocked. I'm angry!"

"Why are you angry?"

"Because Vader would have destroyed you! I can't lose you because ######, Cassian, I love you!"

Cassian's eyes widened. For a moment, he forgot how to breathe. Surely he hadn't heard her right. But he watched her expression turn into one of mingled shock and horror as she took a step back, and he knew that he'd heard her perfectly. Jyn covered her mouth, an apology threatening to break free. Neither of them said anything as the weight of Jyn's confession settled between them.

He'd be lying if he said he hadn't known she'd loved him before, but this was different. This was real. This was vulnerability he'd been trying to spare himself from for years. They'd both known heartbreak, and this was just setting themselves up for more of it.

The image of her clawing at her throat as Darth Vader choked the life out of her made Cassian stop. Who was he kidding? It had been real to him for months now.

Jyn watched him process her words, trying to make sense of it herself. She couldn't take it back. She silently begged him to say something – anything – but he didn't.

What could he possibly say that would relate the storm of emotion raging inside of him? Telling her that he loved her didn't feel right. He'd hoped to do that when both of them were calm and collected, and they certainly weren't now.

He remembered his promise to take time off to spend with her. He hadn't taken personal time since he was six years old, and a break was long overdue. He thought for a moment about where they could go, and decided on a small but rather heavily populated planet.

"There's this planet," he said, "near the Outer Rim. It's small, but it's managed to hold off the Empire for decades. We'd be safe, if you still want to take a few days."

He hadn't replied to her confession at all. She wasn't sure what she'd expected, but this wasn't it. Her fear of what he'd do, what he'd say, nearly got the better of her. "Okay," she said quickly, before she could change her mind. "How many days?"

"As many as we want. We can discuss that when we get there."

"Will General Draven let us?"

Cassian smirked. "As far as Draven is concerned, we got intel that something big is going down, and went to check it out. Leia will cover for us."

"And the team?"

"We'll tell them the same as Draven. Bodhi's a terrible liar anyway. He'd give us away in minutes."

She considered that for a moment. "I don't think we should lie to them. They're our team."

Cassian swallowed a sudden wave of anger. They'd done nothing to protect her from Vader; what did it matter what they told them? He told Jyn as much.

She shook her head. "You were too busy giving yourself up to pay much attention. Chirrut tried to use the Force to free me. Bodhi and Baze both fired at the same time you did. And K tried to keep you from acting like a lunatic. They all helped."

"What?"

"You didn't think you fired all of those bolts, did you?" She smirked.

Honestly, he'd been too busy noticing that the bolts didn't do much good to realize they weren't all his. He shrugged. "So we'll tell them. But they won't like it," he warned.

Jyn told him not to worry about it, and walked through the ship to find the others. She passed the cockpit. Han Solo glanced back at her and gave her a roguish grin. "Can I help you, Beautiful?"

Cassian heard the remark. He saw Jyn's hand go for her blaster, and caught it before it reached the weapon. "How far are we from the Craine system?" he asked.

"Craine system? That's about seven systems over. Why?"

"Set course for Craine." He wasn't technically a Rebellion pilot; he didn't need to know why.

Solo smirked. "Got a romantic weekend planned?"

Jyn blushed. Cassian's eyes hardened, but besides that he showed no emotion. "Set the course, Solo."

Han smirked again and shook his head. "Whatever you say, Andor."

Cassian found the others sitting around a checkered table. Bodhi and K-2 were playing a holographic board game, Chirrut was staring off into Space, and Leia was wrapping a bandage around a cut in Baze's arm.

"Get everything worked out?" Bodhi asked, smirking.

"We have a new assignment," Cassian replied. "Draven contacted us-"

Jyn gave him a reproachful look. He stopped mid-sentence and sighed. He motioned for her to explain. She rolled her eyes and said, "Cassian and I are taking time off. You're dropping us at Craine, and then heading back to Yavin."

K-2 looked up sharply. "You're taking time off? Cassian never takes time off, so what happened that we all should know about?"

"Why just you two?" Bodhi pried.

"It is a little suspicious," Leia teased.

Cassian and Jyn glanced at each other. He realized that as Captain of the team, it fell to him to discuss potential points of conflict. He took a deep breath, and said, "Jyn and I-"

"Notice how easily he says that?" Bodhi teased.

Cassian continued as if he hadn't heard him. "-had a conversation, and we decided to try something relatively new to both of us."

"What?" K-2 demanded.

"Love," Chirrut replied.

Cassian gave him a harsh look, then remembered it didn't do any good because Chirrut couldn't see it. Bodhi burst out laughing. Baze smirked. Chirrut and Leia both grinned. K-2, however, was less than pleased.

"It'll only end in heartbreak," he said. "The odds of you two actually sustaining an even moderately healthy relationship are 736 to one."

Cassian sighed. "We'll take the chance, then."

"And I suppose you want us to lie to Draven for you, too? There's a 98.3% chance that Bodhi will give you away."

"Consider this training, then."

"Are you sure I shouldn't come and chaperone?"

"Yes," Jyn and Cassian said together.

"Aww, they're already finishing each other's sentences!" Bodhi said.

Cassian groaned and placed a hand on his forehead. "I knew we shouldn't have said anything."

"They'd have found out eventually," Leia said. She looked at Jyn for a moment. "Jyn, I've got something to give you."

Jyn glanced uncertainly at Cassian before following the Princess. Leia led her to a small bunkroom that Jyn guessed must be hers. Leia took something from a box under the bunk and held it out for Jyn to take.

It was a silver ring, thin and simple, with a blue stone set in the middle. Jyn turned it over in her hands, examining it from all sides, before looking at the Princess. "What is this for?"

"Cassian gave me that when I was seventeen. It was his mother's. It's all he had left of her."

Jyn felt something heavy rest in her stomach. So he'd given the princess his mother's ring. He'd failed to mention that little detail. "Why are you showing this to me?" she asked.

"I'm giving it to you," Leia corrected. "Actually, I've been meaning to give it to you since I first saw you two together. I shouldn't have kept it, but I… couldn't give it up."

"Why not? Do you… still love him?" Jyn was afraid of the answer, but she needed to know.

Leia laughed. "No! Cassian's a good friend, but I haven't had feelings for him in years. I kept the ring because it reminded me of what he was like before. He's my oldest friend, and sometimes, I needed the reminder that he was still human." She stopped, and sighed. "I'm getting distracted."

"From?"

"What I wanted to tell you." Leia sat down on her bunk and looked up at Jyn for a moment. "I heard what you told him."

Jyn swallowed and looked down. The insecurities, the doubt, the questions about why he'd never acknowledged her confession, crowded into her mind. Had he ever told Leia that he loved her? He must have, to have given her his mother's ring.

"Jyn, you have to understand… Cassian's a broken man. He's done things he regrets. He's lost… everything. It may take a little while for him to tell you how much he cares about you. Just know that he does."

She paused, waiting for Jyn to reply. When she didn't, Leia continued. "You know, he never looked at me like he looks at you. I was just… someone he tried to spend his time with. But you are so much to him. You've resurrected the man he used to be, and he needs you as much as he loves you. He knows that. Give him time, and patience. He's forgotten how to love. He just needs to relearn it." Leia paused again. "Is any of this making sense?"

Jyn swallowed, and nodded. "Yeah." She looked up from the ring at the Princess. "Thank you, Leia. For the ring, and the talk."

A knock on the open door turned their attention to the captain of the ship. "Sorry to interrupt, ladies, but we'll be arriving at Craine in a few. Hey, Leia, while we're there, maybe we could-"

"Not even if you were the last man in the galaxy," Leia replied.

Han smirked. "Fine, Your Worship, but if you change your mind, you know where to find me."

"Leave," she commanded.

He shrugged, laughed, and walked back down the hall. Leia shook her head. "I'm sorry about him. Han's an idiot."

Jyn noticed the blush on Leia's cheeks, and the not quite convincing way she insulted him. She smirked a little. "If you insist."

"Don't you start, too. I've got more common sense than that." She smiled. "You'd better find Cassian before we land." Jyn nodded and turned to go. Leia stopped her before she reached the door. "Jyn? Be good to him. He doesn't deserve anything else."

Jyn promised she would. If nothing else, she would be honest. She put the ring in her pocket, and walked back to her team. They were all silent, and Cassian looked more than a little uncomfortable. Everyone but K looked at her as she strode in.

She read the situation quickly, and stood beside Cassian. "What did they tell you?" she asked quietly.

He looked down at her and managed a half-smirk. "It appears you have a lot of overprotective brothers."

She looked back at the group, and smiled a little. They felt the ship enter the atmosphere of Craine, and everyone took hold of something. Once they'd made a safe landing near one of the major cities, Leia opened the door.

Baze stood up and gave Jyn a one-armed hug. He gave Cassian a threatening look. "Take care of my little sister," he said.

Cassian nodded. "I intend to."

Bodhi gave Jyn a brotherly hug and told her to be safe. Chirrut gripped her hand and gave it a squeeze. Cassian crossed his arms and waited for Jyn to finish saying her goodbyes.

K-2 walked over and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. "If you're not back in five days, I'm coming to get you."

Cassian sighed. "K, we're not in any danger here."

"That's not what I meant."

Cassian looked up at his friend, surprised by his meaning. "You don't think I'd desert?"

K-2 cocked his head to one side. "I'm not so sure."

"You know me better than that. I wouldn't leave the Rebellion, and even if I did, I'd take you with me."

K-2 gave a curt nod. "Well that's good to hear. Try to resist any human temptations, won't you?"

Cassian smirked. "Afraid of being an uncle?"

"Sentimentality doesn't suit you. I could never be an uncle because a droid and a human could never be brothers. It's biologically impossible."

Cassian shrugged. "Forgive me for trying to make you feel better."

"This is going to become a habit, isn't it? Sentimentality?"

Cassian merely shrugged. They sank into a comfortable silence. Cassian watched Jyn try to get away from Chirrut's speech, and smirked.

"Are you going to tell her?" K asked.

Cassian glanced at him. "Tell her what? That I love her?"

"No. Naturally I assumed you'd get around to that. I meant, are you going to tell her about that undercover mission to Omnibus VIII?"

The excitement Cassian had felt about spending time with Jyn suddenly evaporated at the mention of that moon. He'd done his best to forget about it. It had taken six bottles of whiskey to get his hands to stop shaking after that mission. It was the one that had cost him the leftover fragments of his soul, when he'd finally decided that the Cause was above everything… even morality.

"Well?" K asked. "Are you?"

Cassian took a deep breath and let it out. "We'll see if it comes up." He fixed his dark eyes on his friend. "Five days. If we're not back, come find us."

"Not getting nervous, are you?"

Cassian avoided the question. "How many days do you think it will take me to spill my guts?"

"Six," K-2 replied, as if he'd calculated that answer long ago.

Cassian nodded. "Five days, then."

Chirrut finally finished his talk, and Jyn turned to say goodbye to Leia.

"I thought you were going to be honest with her," K-2 said. "I thought she deserved that."

Cassian thought about Omnibus, and sighed. "Everyone has secrets, K."

Leia walked over to Cassian and wrapped her arms around him. He forced a smile as he hugged her back. She pulled away, her eyes narrowed. She put her hands on his shoulders, his arms still around her waist. "Your heart's pounding," she said. "What are you thinking?"

"Just excited to spend time with the woman I love," Cassian lied.

She wasn't buying it. She read him quickly. "Cassian-"

"You ready?" He turned to see Jyn.

He let go of Leia and smiled. "Of course. Let's go." He looked at the Princess. "Tell Draven we got some information about Imperial movements, and went to check it out."

She nodded. The worry hadn't left her eyes. "Don't do anything stupid," she warned.

He didn't reply. He gave K-2 one last nod, and looked at his team. The mistrust in Baze's eyes almost surprised him.

"Take care," Bodhi said.

"You, too," Cassian replied.

Chirrut smiled. "May the Force be with you."